Jesse welcomes the Prime Minister to new Hereford Enterprise Zone

Local MP Jesse Norman welcomed David Cameron back to Hereford yesterday for his first official visit to the county as Prime Minister.

Mr Cameron visited the new Hereford Enterprise Zone, and met with Council Leader John Jarvis and the team that set up the Zone as well as local business people. He then toured the site with Ray Stone, the Chair of the EZ board, and visited the Incubator with Nick Webster of the Council.

The Enterprise Zone was awarded to Herefordshire last August as one of only 11 sites around the country, following a fiercely competitive bidding process. It will offer companies locating there a very attractive combination of discounts on business rates, faster planning approvals and access to superfast broadband.

Mr Cameron said that he was impressed by the rapid start that the new Enterprise Zone had made, and that the Shropshire, Telford and Herefordshire Local Enterprise Partnership was "an exemplar", which showed that the government had been right to disband the Regional Development Agencies.

Speaking afterwards, Jesse said:

“I am delighted that the Prime Minister has opened the New Year with a visit to Herefordshire. This is the third official visit by David Cameron to the county in five years, and the first visit by a Prime Minister in over fifteen years.

“My goal has always been to try to put our marvellous city and county on the map. In 2010 we won one of the first superfast broadband bids. Last year we won the Enterprise Zone. This visit by the PM is another major step forward.

“The priority must now be to put in a second river crossing at Rotherwas and Ledbury Link road, opening up the new Enterprise Zone to the rest of the UK economy and helping it to have the strongest possible impact on the regeneration of the county.”